


running from something larger than yourself

by theneonpineapple



Series: chapter in the desert [2]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast), The Adventure Zone: Amnesty (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arguing, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Character Death Fix, F/F, M/M, Necromancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-07 07:33:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18616051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theneonpineapple/pseuds/theneonpineapple
Summary: they're trying to drive you into the ground, to see if anything / walks away.Boyd wakes up. The Hornets arrive. Jake reveals a secret.





	running from something larger than yourself

**Author's Note:**

> title from sikens, "driving, not washing", chapter title from "straw house, straw dog" again
> 
> you kinda need to read four dreams in a row for this to make any fucking sense but you do you ig
> 
> (... oh my gods this was just supposed to be a simple sequel to "four dreams in a row" so I could move past the damn Mimic arc but now it's 5.5k and it's only the first half and THEY HAVEN'T EVEN LEFT YET.) 
> 
> Violence warning is for Boyd's death, which does happen "onscreen".
> 
>  
> 
> NB: the majority of this fic takes place on 2/19/19, but there are short excerpts which take place in the future.

Field Journal 2/20/19

Mature T. canadensis 3.2 miles from trailhead on Greater Greenbrier Trail. Needles turning white. No adelgid activity. No mildew. Looks almost like sunscorch - but on a pine tree? 

 

-

 

A hand on his wrist. A man's voice saying, "I gotta say, he seems fine. I mean. Pulse is. Okay. He's breathing. His neck isn't all..."

"We get the picture." Ned. 

"Look, I don't really get, uh, necromancy training from the park service. I think he's. Honestly, he's fine. Crazy, actually, considering how he looked an hour ago."

"Satisfied, Stern?" A woman said.

"Let's talk upstairs, Ms. Cobb," another man answered. Cobb? "I don't know the etiquette here but I think privacy might be the right call."

"Barclay?" She prompted, and got a soft yeah in response. How many people were down here, exactly? 

Footsteps. He became aware of a hand on his arm but couldn't be sure how long it had been there.

"Well, guess you'd better drop that murder charge."

"I want to talk to him as soon as he wakes up, but for the time being, yes, Ned is free to go."

Free to go? 

"I'm sorry, for the time being?!" 

"C’mon. Not here, y'all." 

"Right. Shit. Sorry. We're gonna be right upstairs, okay?"

"Of course. Yes. Thank you, Aubrey." Ned.

"Leta."

"In a moment."

The grip on his shoulder tightened. What are you nervous about, Ned?

There was a lot of noise, overlapping chatter, and then a thud and sudden silence. Long silence. Had he lost the ability to hear? Had they left? But there was the hand on his arm, the only thing keeping him anchored.

Uneasiness.

"You should tell her. Soon."

"How did you -"

"Transference. A shared wound across three people. It festers."

Guilt. Fear. So much fucking guilt.

"I'm gonna tell her."

"Are you?"

An ache, fingers digging into sore muscles. Every part of him ached. Like when he pushed it too far in the prison gym, but across every muscle he had.

He could think straighter now. It didn't feel like any sort of blessing because all he could think about was pain.

And then.

"Boyd?"

He opened his eyes.

He saw Ned. Concerned. Tired. Apologetic. And he remembered.

"Do you have it? Shade Tree?"

 "I got it," Ned said, patting a lump in his jacket. "But we need to talk."

"I'm not really in the talking mood -"

"Boyd." And he looked so serious, and Boyd was a weak man when it came to Ned Chicane. So he stepped aside. Let him in the room. 

"Not much to talk about. You think I'm a dick who ruined your life."

"You scared me. I was harsh."

"Yeah, well. You left me to rot."

Ned shut the door behind him. "I wasn't much better off," he said, melodramatic as ever, as he stepped closer to him. "I hate this town, Boyd, and now that I've stolen this the few friends I did have will come for me. You can have Shade Tree, just. Take me with you. We can start over."

Boyd turned away. "You're angling for something. What do you want, Ned?"

Ned reached up, hands coming to rest on either side of his neck, warm familiar. His thumb turned Boyd's face to look at him. But his expression was wrong. No wheeling, no disguised fondness. And then Ned pushed him down, hard, harder than Ned should be capable of, forcing him to his knees, and those hands cradled his face. Too tightly, and Boyd tried to pull free but couldn't, grabbed at Ned's hands. "Ned," he said. 

"I want a war," he said.

And twisted.

Pain bloomed sharp. He couldn't catch himself when Ned pushed him back. Pressure in his head was building as he laid there, unable to move cheek pressed against the dirty hotel carpet.

Ned, or not Ned, spat blood and his shape changed, became bigger.

The pressure kept building, blotting out the light.

He didn't feel Not Ned drag him to the closet. He was just there. And then the door closed on a monstrous face and Boyd was in the darkness, alone, and it was getting darker.

He wondered where the real Ned was.

 

-

 

Field Journal 2/21/19

Couple more specimens of T. Canadensis quarter mile north of Forest Rd. Same discoloration. Marked off with flagging tape. Coming back tomorrow to take a core sample.

 

-

 

Ned wasn't very superstitious, though most thieves were, even in the face of the revelation of magic existing. But he had a creeping certainty that he shouldn't stop touching Boyd. And calling it intuition was easier than acknowledging that maybe he just wanted to touch Boyd. So he just left his hand on Boyd's arm.

And then when Boyd woke up the second time - without Ned's name on his lips - he found himself cursing that intuition. Because Boyd bolted upright and grabbed Ned's throat. His eyes were unfocused, breathing fast, and he didn't immediately kill Ned, but Ned didn't want to spook him by calling for help.

He very slowly reached up to wrap his hand around Boyd's wrist. "Easy," he said.

Immediately the grip slackened.

Boyd blinked, and his eyes seemed clearer, and then he looked at Ned and snatched his hand back.

For a second, he could almost taste how terrified Boyd was. He gritted his teeth. He was going to blast that damn mimic to hell and back and then hell again.

"It's me," he said.

"Is it. Is it really you?" Boyd asked.

"The real me. Yeah. The bastard used my face, didn't it."

Boyd stared at him for a moment. "Did you just use our safeword?"

"Worked, didn't it?"

Boyd rubbed at his eyes. "Ned, I remember dying. I remember being dead. I remember - all of it."

"Hm. I was really hoping for some convenient amnesia."

"What the hell was that thing? It looked like you. It--"

"It wasn't me."

"I know," said Boyd. "Oh, I feel like shite. Who were all those people?"

"What?"

"I heard voices. Couple of men, couple of women. Was. Was that Madeline fucking Cobb, Ned?"

"Ah. Yes. There's a lot you need to be caught up on, but - look, drink some water first. And slowly. Don't do that thing you always do where you chug an entire bottle of water and then crush the bottle."

He didn't mean to sound fond instead of annoyed, but it came out that way. Boyd paused with the bottle to his lips. Then he took a careful swig and lowered it again and said, "Ned."

"If I try to catch you up all at once your head will explode and I don't know if this is the kind of thing you can do twice or---"

"I don't know why you did it once. Or how. But. Ned, the last time I saw you you called me a dick and accused me of ruining your life."

"I - well. Yeah."

"I heard you calling me."

"Can't we just. You died, okay? And as mad as I was at you, I didn't like the world without you in it."

Boyd put his hand over his eyes. "I'm too dizzy to stand. Get over here."

Ned paused. "What?" He said.

"Come here," repeated Boyd.

And he stepped closer and Boyd grabbed his shirt in both hands and leaned into Ned, his forehead against Ned's shoulder. Ned wrapped his arms around Boyd.

"Did you miss me? When I was in prison?"

"I didn't think about it," said Ned. "I couldn't. But."

"But?"

"You didn't ruin my life. My life was ruined because you were gone."

“I missed you,” Boyd confessed. “I could’ve stolen the statue myself. I could’ve stolen anything I wanted and sold it and left. I was trying to make you miserable - I was trying to make you care.”

“I know. I know. You dumb bastard. Leave the manipulation to me next time, why don’t you?”

He felt a soft huff of not-quite laughter against his neck, and Boyd nodded. Then, “Ned?”

“Yes, Boyd.”

“I think I’m gonna be sick.”

Ned moved to get the bucket.

 

-

 

Field Journal 2/22/19

Three more discolored trees in a cluster by the River Loop campgrounds. All T. Canadensis.

 

Update 1513:

Returned to previous site - two more trees I hadn’t marked with flagging tape now discolored. Going to take core sample for pathological investigation.

 

Update 1547:

Core sample abnormal.

 

Update 1620:

Fuck.

 

-

 

Ned was talking to someone when Boyd drifted into wakefulness again. “He's been in and out of consciousness.”

“Well, he's been in and out of alive, that's to be expected," a man's voice said. 

“I'm right here, you know," Boyd grumbled, pushing the compress off his eyes and up onto his forehead. "What's the problem?" 

There was a middle aged man in some kinda uniform and a young woman in street clothes standing with Ned. They both stared at him. 

"Hey!" The young woman said. She looked familiar, but Boyd's head was pounding and he couldn't analyze that. "I'm Aubrey. Listen, we kinda need to borrow Ned for a bit--" 

He couldn't help the rush of panic. "No!"

"Oh boy."

"What's so important?" Ned asked. "Did the bombom strike again?"

Aubrey looked at the other man. Boyd squinted. This whole weird scene was making the headache worse. 

"The Hornets are upstairs," said the man. "All of em. Hollis wants an answer from the Sheriff." 

"Then why’d they come here?" Ned asked. 

"Because Sheriff Owens is here."

"Dare I ask why the Sheriff is here at seven in the morning on a Monday, Duck?" 

Duck? 

"Guess he found out about the water monster and wanted some more answers."

Water monster? 

"Can't that wait?" 

"Yeah, you tell the single dad to wait to find out about the thing that almost killed his kid. Look, we gotta head these guys off and go kill this thing."

"You think I don't want it dead more than anyone?" Ned snapped. "We don't have a plan. We don't know where it is or what it looks like. It can move through rifts. What, exactly, are we rushing off to do here?"

"You mean the thing that killed me," Boyd said. They all turned to stare at him again. 

"Sorry, I'm sorry, this must be a lot for you," said Aubrey. 

"Kinda why we didn't want to do this in front of you, but Ned wouldn't leave."

"It had Ned's face," he said. 

"I'm going to kill it," Ned muttered. 

Boyd swallowed past a wave of nausea as he swung his feet off the cot. "It wants a war."

"Sorry, what?" Duck asked. 

"I asked it what it wanted - when I thought it was Ned, but it answered. It said it wants a war. Dunno if that means anything to you."

"Aw, shit. The Gate."

"It wants to hurt Sylvain. We gotta tell the others."

"Wait, you guys." 

Ned hesitated, looking between them and Boyd, and Boyd got to his feet.

"I'm coming with you." 

"Boyd--" 

"Listen, there's a lot of stuff you don't know, and we don't really have time to explain, and clearly you've already been through a lot--" 

"I remember dying. I remember the - that thing--" 

"The Mimic, we've been callin' it."

"So if you're gonna kill the bastard, I want in. I just. I'll need some sunglasses."

"Sunglasses?"

"It's too bloody bright."

There was a pause where their collective nervousness seemed to fill the air, but then the man in the uniform sighed a little. 

"Okay. Y'know, that's fair. It killed you, that's a hell of a way to get read into all this, but okay. Let's go."

About halfway up the stairs Boyd began to regret it, but no sooner did he think it than Ned's hand settled on his shoulder blade again. "Okay?" 

"Fine," he gritted out. 

At the top of the stairs Aubrey turned and took off her sunglasses. She smiled at Boyd, small and encouraging, as she handed them to him. "It's gonna be a lot," she said. "Don't let Hollis intimidate you."

 

-

 

Field Journal 2/24/19

R. flavosaponaria also turning white where attached to infected trees. It's spreading. 

 

-

 

Hollis prided themself on being a calm person. They excelled at conflict deescalation and keeping a cool head under pressure. When things went wrong in a stunt or the cops showed up at the Nest, they were always unflappable and they had worked hard, done a lot of reading and meditating to manage it. 

And then three days ago someone had killed two of their friends. They hadn't told even Keith about the strange fuzz that had entered their mind, the way their calm had been forced upon them. But whatever had crawled inside their head that night was gone now, and in its absence and in their own grief they had lost the patience to suppress their anger.

So right now? Right now Hollis was mad. 

"It's been twenty four hours. You told us you'd make a decision, Sheriff, and hear you are eating pancakes."

"Hollis," said the Sheriff. 

Beside them Keith suddenly got very still. Hollis turned to look at their friend - their lieutenant, this was not a time for friends this was a time for them to be the Hornets, that was why they'd asked all of them to wear their jackets, why they'd entered the a Lodge and immediately fanned out into formation. Now more than ever they had to be a group.

Keith's expression was shell-shocked. Hollis followed his gaze to a woman who looked familiar, though they couldn't place her. 

She was sitting in a chair pulled away from the table, and Hollis could see why - her prosthetic leg was metallic and didn't seem to bend very easily, left outstretched ahead of her. She had hair that was dark, curls stretched into waves by the weight of how long it fell, longer than most people kept their hair. Her clothes were all black too, including a long black coat. 

And that's when Hollis placed her, too. 

Keith had an album of photos of his mother. Among them were the photos from the annual sheriff's office barbecue, always hosted in Keith's backyard. And this woman appeared in several of them. Always dressed in all black, despite the heat and the more casual clothing of her surroundings. She hadn't changed. She still looked as she had then, in photos where Keith was a toddler, in photos where Keith hadn't been born yet, she still looked to be in her twenties. 

She pushed herself up to her feet. "Keith Owens," she said. 

"Who the hell are you?" He asked. 

"My name is Leta. Sheriff Owens--" 

"Dad," said Keith, "what the fuck?" 

"Can I speak to my son alone?" Sheriff Owens asked Hollis, a hard edge to his voice that Hollis didn't fucking appreciate. 

"No. Keith, stay right here. Start explaining."

"Explain what?" She cocked her head like a curious bird. 

"Explain how you haven't aged in twenty years. Explain what you're doing in my town, why you were hanging around Keith as a fucking kid - all of it." 

The other stranger at the table - the fucking fed from a few days ago, what the fuck - slowly lowered his fork and looked to Leta as well. 

"Do you remember Deputy Mike Sanders, Hollis?" Sheriff Owens said. 

"I want to hear it from her, if you don't mind, Sheriff."

"You're not in charge here, Hollis. Keith, I told you about Mike, didn't I?" 

"When you showed me the pictures, yeah."

"He died in '97, you were still little. Leta was a friend of his. He always invited her to the barbecues."

"We fought together," said Leta. "Michael and I. We fought for the Pine Guard. We protected Kepler. Michael died doing it, and I left. I came back only as a favor to Madeline Cobb. I met Keith only as a function of the social demands of my relationship with Michael. There was no ill intent there."

"And the fact that you haven't aged?" 

"I experience the effects of entropy as anyone does. It simply does not appear to your eyes, due to the magic." 

"What magic?" 

And that was when the idiots themselves burst into the room. 

Aubrey Little stalked across immediately to get between Hollis and Leta. "Stand down," she said. 

"Your friend here was just explaining why she hasn't aged in twenty years."

"None of your gods damned business, that's why."

"Sheriff, you can't believe these people are actually trustworthy." 

"Keith," said the Sheriff. "The thing that killed Deputy Mike, it was a fire monster." 

"So?" Keith said, eyeing Aubrey. 

"There was a water monster too. Four months ago. It was in the pool at the high school. It tried to kill Cal." 

Keith's head whipped around to stare at his father. "It what?" 

"I killed it," Ned Chicane called.

"Everyone needs to take a step back, right now," Ranger Newton said loudly. 

The Hornets all looked to Hollis. They didn't have to turn around to feel their eyes prickle the back of their scalp. 

Hollis bared their teeth at Aubrey. "I'll back off when she does." 

"How about you and your little gang back off and then I will, punk." 

"You said your magic was rare." 

"It is."

"Then how come your friend there has magic?" 

"This is exactly what it wants, Aubrey."

"Yeah, and they're playing right into its hands with this grandstanding, threatening, paranoid bullshit." 

"What are you talking about?" 

"How do you know what it wants?" 

"Did it say something to Boyd?" 

"Mr. Mosche, I had no idea you were awake." 

"Fuck, my head--" 

"EVERYONE, SHUT UP." 

Mama stood at the top of the stairs, looking thunderous, Barclay behind her. Huh. Hollis hadn't clocked him going to get her. "Okay," she said, when there was silence. "Hornets, we're just as confused and angry and frightened as y'all are, so give us a second. Agent Stern, Sheriff Zeke, if you could please get some tables pushed together. I think we need to have ourselves a proper meeting, and y'all are what we've got in terms of neutral parties. Aubrey, step back and give them some space. Ned, your friend is lookin' a little worse for wear."

Mama spoke, and things happened. It was like looking into a fun house mirror. This was what Hollis had been missing, watching them - they'd been trying to figure out which of the trio was their counterpart, the fully fledged leader. But it was none of them.

Barclay, large and intimidating but exhausted looking behind her, was her Keith. And she was looking at Hollis. 

Okay. 

Hollis made a hand gesture. The Hornets all stepped back, and Hollis stayed where they were but relaxed their posture. They slipped their hands in their pockets and nodded to Mama.

She nodded back. 

"Duck, you said you had some elucidation as to this thing's motives?" 

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, it turns out I was right. It does want to start a war. With… The aliens," he gestured a little. Towards Leta. 

Hollis glanced back at Mama. She closed her eyes. Behind her Barclay had lowered his head. 

"Then I guess we better get to explaining some things," she said. 

Hollis smiled tightly. "Guess you'd better." 

 

-

 

Field Journal 2/25/19

Marked 108 more T. Canadensis trees in half acre around southwest side of Mt. Kepler. It's spreading. Fast. 

 

-

 

"You doing okay?" Aubrey asked. 

Boyd squinted behind her sunglasses. "I'm doing terribly, thanks."

"Dumb question. Listen, you're about to get a lot of information all at once, so just. Don't worry too much about it, and I'll answer your questions later if you need to. And if you gotta leave just… Let me know."

"It really gets weirder than this?" 

"Well. Uh. One of the people in this room is secretly Bigfoot, Duck carries a talking sword, and the fed turned out to be kinda chill, so, yeah. It gets weirder." She reached up and tapped under her orange eye. "Like, really weird."

"You must be used to this, then."

"Not reeeeeeally? I've kinda only been here for six months. I didn't even know I had magic. I'm a stage magician, I just thought I was doing my tricks wrong."

"Fuck."

"Yeah, that's the long and short of it."

Before she could say anything else, Barclay came over. "Hey," he said softly. He set a tea tray down. "It's high caffeine, should help with the headache." 

"Thanks," said Boyd.

Ned came back over. Aubrey wasn't sure what was going on with him and Leta and their weird conversation, but then again, Leta just had weird conversations with everyone. 

Mama sat down in the middle of the table on one side, and Hollis sat down opposite her. Leta sat on her left, Barclay on her other side. Aubrey sat down at Mama's right, next to Duck, and then Ned, and Boyd on the far end, next to the head of the table where Zeke and Stern were sitting. The Hornets spread out around Hollis, and though they outnumbered the Pine Guard side, Keith sat down directly opposite her and offered a small smile. 

Maybe they could work with these punks after all. 

She was just starting to relax a little when the door to the hallway opened and Jake came through, arms wrapped around himself.

Keith jolted a little. 

"Jake--" Barclay started. 

"I heard the tables moving," he said. He wasn't making eye contact, but he did glance over the Hornets. "You're telling them?" 

"That's the plan," Mama said.

"I want to be here."

"You don't have to."

"I've wanted to tell them for years," he said. "I want to be here."

"Where's Dani?" Aubrey asked, as Jake came to sit down beside Barclay.

"She's scared." 

Across from her, she saw Hollis frown. "Of us?" They said. 

Jake gave a short, jerky nod. 

"Well, you showed up en masse, armed--" 

"Aubrey," said Mama.

She sat back and folded her arms. 

"Of course Dani is scared. And you're scared too. That's what it wants. It wants us angry, afraid, and at each other's throats. It wants you, specifically, because it knows if anyone in Kepler could mount an attack it would be you or the Sheriff's office. So it killed the Hornets and it killed the Deputy."

"He said it wants a war with aliens. He pointed to her."

"I guess… I guess we start at the beginning, then." 

"I will start," said Leta. "I was there, after all."

She stood up and reached for her necklace. Then she paused. 

"Keep the screaming to a minimum, please. Boyd has a headache."

And then she removed the disguise. 

To their credit, Hollis didn't move an inch, and Keith startled a bit - it was the other Hornets who had a variety of reactions, including a few yelps and fuck!'s, and two jumped to their feet. 

"Do I look my age now, Hollis?" 

They eyed her curiously. "What exactly are you?"

"My name is Leta. I come from a different world, originally. It is a living planet, called Sylvain, and it has magic at its core. But the crystal which allows its people to survive was fractured centuries ago, and it is dying. There is an affliction, a blight, that ravages the world. It is called the Quell. But Earth and Sylvain are linked."

"Linked how?" 

"Gateways appear. Apertures between this world and theirs. We came through and became your folktales, your legends, your cryptids." 

"So that thing that killed my friends?" 

"That was not a sylph. It was a creature of the Quell. We call them Abominations. There have been over a hundred since the Gate appeared in Kepler. Madeline Cobb has fought every single one. For one week after each one appears, they are trapped within a mile radius of the Gate. And then they can leave."

"You said one was a fire monster and one was a water monster?" 

"This one is a shapeshifter," said Mama. "We're calling it the Mimic. It's smarter than the last ones. And apparently it wants a war between Earth and Sylvain." 

"How do you know?" 

"It told me," Boyd spoke up. "It was - it looked like Ned." 

Hollis turned to look at him. "Who are you?" 

"Uh. The name's Boyd."

"Why would it tell you?" 

"Because it didn't expect me to live."

Hollis paused. Then, softly, "I'm sorry," they said. They looked back at Leta and there was still something suspicious in their eyes. "So there's an alien planet. And y'all say that the things that come from your planet are evil, but there's also people there, and they look like monsters, and they aren't evil?" 

"It's like humans. Sometimes you get Ted Bundy."

"Well, forgive me for saying so, but we don't send Ted Bundy to another planet on a regular schedule. That strikes me as just a bit odd. I get that all of you trust these - sylphs? When they say they're different from the Abominations. But I don't know enough to make that determination, and considering how much secret keeping you've been doing, you have to understand, that's a lot of trust you're demanding. Cause it means I have to believe you when you say one person is a sylph and one's an Abomination."

Mama rubbed at her eyes. "We're telling you now, and we ain't exactly lousy with spare time, here. We have four days left and it's been quiet too long already for my likings. What do we need to do to get you to trust us, here?" 

"I don't know," said Hollis. "Proof about the difference between sylphs and Abominations, I suppose."

"Do you trust me?" Jake blurted out. 

 

-

 

From: Duck <dnewton@nps.gov>

To: Juno <jdevine@nps.gov>

Subject: Core Samples

Don't send those off yet. Please. 

 

From: Juno <jdevine@nps.gov>

To: Duck <dnewton@nps.gov>

Subject: Re:Core Samples

What? Why not? 

 

From: Duck <dnewton@nps.gov>

To: Juno <jdevine@nps.gov>

Subject: RE:ReCore Samples

I can't tell you. Jsut trust me. 

 

From: Juno <jdevine@nps.gov>

To: Duck <dnewton@nps.gov>

Subject: re:RE:Re:Core Samples

You've been saying that a lot lately and I'm sick of it. Either give me a reason or I'm sending it. 

 

-

 

"Do you trust me?" Jake asked, standing up. 

He ignored Barclay trying to get him to sit back down. He ignored Aubrey's wide eyed stare, Leta's intense curiosity, and Mama swearing quietly. 

Hollis looked at him. "Depends," they said. "Trust you with what? Cause the days when I would've followed you at your word, they're kinda long gone, Jake."

"Do you - do you think I'm a bad person?" 

"No," Keith said immediately, so quickly that Jake could see Aubrey turn to stare at him out of the corner of his eye. 

Hollis squinted at him. "You hurt a lot of folks leaving the crew."

"I know."

"I'm guessing it was cause you knew about all of this?" 

"Yeah. It's related."

"That doesn't really help me with my concern that you've all be tricked by this Sylvain place."

"If you're asking me to vouch for all of Sylvain, I can't. No more than you could vouch for all of Earth. Or… all of humanity."

He took a deep breath. And he took off his bracelet. 

Jake couldn't help looking at Keith. He was looking up at Jake - way up, given how tall he was in this form - with wide eyes. 

"I'm a sylph," he said, unnecessarily. "And I know a lot of you are mad at me." 

Keith shook his head. 

"But I'm still the same person as I was, when we were friends, and I'm not a monster. I know the difference between sylphs and Abominations. And so do the Pine Guard, because they've lived with sylphs for years, and fought Abominations just as long. So trust us." 

Jake held his breath.

"We trust you," said Hollis. They turned to Duck. "Well, Duck," they said. "I promised you if you told me everything, me and my crew would take a backseat and let you handle it."

Duck nodded slowly. "I remember."

"You still want us benched?"

"Nah," he said. "Hell nah. You kidding me? No, I want all the backup I can get, but." He looked to Mama.

"Understand that there's a risk. A big risk. If we do this, any number of you could die."

"And if we don't help, how many of you are there?"

"These three," said Mama. "Me. And Barclay, if he's willin'."

"And me," Stern said. "If you'll have me."

Zeke said, "It's my town. If you think you're going out there without me, you've got another thing comin'."

"I want to help. I know," Jake said, when Barclay opened his mouth. "I know you're worried about me. But I'm pretty cool under pressure and. They were my friends, too."

"So that's eight of us. That's more than we usually get," said Duck.

"Nine," Boyd said quietly. "It's personal." 

Hollis nodded to themself. "If you'll have us, I'm willing, and anyone else in the crew who is too -"

"All of us," said Nila, her voice firm.

"Sorry, Dad," Keith said. "But I'm not sitting this out."

"Twenty-two," said Leta. "The Pine Guard has never had such numbers. I believe we peaked at nine."

"Didn't think you still believed in the Pine Guard," Mama said.

"I do not plan to apologize," she said. "But as long as you'll have me, I'll fight for you."

"With us."

Leta nodded. 

"Okay, y'all. I know everyone here is madder'n hell. I know everyone here wants revenge. And I know we have every right to that anger. But this thing is smart. And it's dangerous. And I want all of you to set aside that anger and fight for something bigger than revenge. Fight for your home. Fight for your town. Fight for your loved ones - living and dead.

"We know this thing wants a war, so we keep it away from the town, and we keep it away from the gate. Sheriff--"

"I'll order my deputies to keep an eye out on major targets."

"I can put out a bulletin to be aware that someone is trying to create a hoax," said Stern, his expression considering.

Zeke snapped his fingers. "The local stations."

"I'll tell Kirby to put something on the Interned urging healthy skepticism," said Ned. "I'll say some bullshit about how hoaxes damage our good name and hurt the cause of cryptozoologists everywhere."

"I'll have to convince Juno, uh, to patrol round the gate. I'll say I heard rumors that the Hornets were gonna do some vandalizin' up there. No offense."

Hollis looked amused. "Whatever is necessary," they said. "Couple of my crew have been caught by Ranger Devine before."

Nila stuck her tongue out at Hollis, her piercings glinting. "How was I t'know she could run faster than a cop?"

Aubrey snorted.

Zeke just looked resigned. "Thanks, Nila."

"And then we meet back here, 'cause we oughta take a look at this thing's last known location."

"Which is?" Hollis asked. 

"Resort Row," said Barclay.

 

-

 

From: Duck <dnewton@nps.gov>

To: Juno <jdevine@nps.gov>

Subject: Dinner tonight? 

Come to my apartment. I'll buy pizza and explain everything. There's an explanation, I swear on our friendship there is, just trust me. 

 

From: Juno <jdevine@nps.gov>

To: Duck <dnewton@nps.gov>

Subject: Re:Dinner tonight? 

I trust you. Even if you're being real weird. 

-

Dani opened the door to her room and Aubrey bit back a concerned gasp. She looked rough: there were dark, puffy circles under her eyes, and a frown on her face.

"Jake said you were scared?" Aubrey said instead of asking if she was okay.

Dani bit her lip. "Yeah," she said, hugging her arms to her chest. "Aubrey, what are the Hornets doing here again? And the cops? Are you working with them?"

"They're going to help us."

"You can't trust them," said Dani, immediately.

Aubrey tried for a grin. "Hey, me trust a cop? Not likely."

The joke didn't land, but Dani smiled weakly anyway.

"Listen to me," Aubrey said more seriously. She took Dani's hands in hers. "There's over twenty of us now and we're all going over to Resort Row together to fight this thing together. Even Leta’s coming! We're gonna kick its ass. And then when we get back from saving the day, again, because we're awesome, you and me? We're gonna absolutely wreck Barclay's kitchen making cookies. I think we should make some bee shaped ones for the Hornets, cos Hollis will either really love that or absolutely hate it, and either way I'm good with that."

Dani smiled again, but she looked distracted.

"What's wrong?" She prompted softly. 

"Aubrey, you're not going to... Tell them about me, are you?"

"I was gonna wait for the hunt to be over and see if you wanted to talk to Mama about the memory loss thing but no, I'm not gonna tell them anything without asking you. If you don't want me to say anything then I'll take the secret to my grave, okay?"

"I think I'd prefer that," said Dani.

Aubrey squeezed her hands. "Then that's what I'll do. I'll see you tonight, okay?"

"I'll see you," Dani said firmly.

 

**Author's Note:**

> so much talking. so much bullshit. so much subtext. Next up: we ACTUALLY fight the fucking monster, and I ACTUALLY remember how to write actual romantic relationships instead of just subtext.


End file.
